This invention relates generally to suction cups and, more particularly, to a suction cup having a quick release mount.
Suction cups are used in a wide variety of manufacturing environments. Typically, they are used to hold and position a workpiece during transfer, assembly or machining operations.
Typically, suction cups are mounted to a housing that is attached to a robot arm or a workholding arm of a tooling machine. The suction cups need to be in an reproducible position to ensure that the workpiece is properly positioned during the machining or assembly process. To ensure that the workpiece is held in the proper location, the suction cup housing is usually secured in fixed position relative to the robot or workholding arm by a clamping mechanism. The suction cups occasionally need to be replaced with suction cups of a different shape to accommodate the contour of the workpiece. In addition, the suction cups frequently either break or need to be replaced due to wear. It is desirable that, the exchange or replacement be rapidly accomplished and that it not change the orientation of the suction cup housing relative to the arm. It is also desirable to incorporate a means for releasably locking the suction cup within the housing.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a quick release suction cup mount that permits a user to easily exchange or replace suction cups without altering the orientation of the suction cup housing relative to the robot or workholding arm that it is associated with. In addition, it is further desirable to provide a releasable locking mechanism which further secures the suction cup mount to the housing.